Jon Hodgson Lauches Miniature Landscape Backdrops Book

In a move to bring vibrant, thematic backdrops to the miniature and model photography scene, renowned illustrator Jon Hodgson has launched a Kickstarter campaign for his groundbreaking project, the Jon Hodgson Backgrounds Book. The campaign has already gained strong traction, with $10,840 pledged of its modest $190 goal, and 272 backers as of July 1, five days before the campaign’s conclusion.

Hodgson’s innovative tool for miniature painters offers 24 professionally printed, hand-painted landscapes to serve as backdrops for photographs. The Kickstarter’s overwhelming success has allowed for the addition of eight more paintings, offering a total of 32 landscapes in the final product.

Tired of photographing miniatures against monotonous backdrops, Hodgson devised a practical solution that would retain the stylistic integrity of the models. A digital landscape painter with a vast portfolio, Hodgson decided to print his paintings to use as thematic backdrops. The result was compelling, inspiring the creation of the Backgrounds Book.

The proposed book is designed for practicality and portability. Sized at A4, it features a wiro-style binding, which allows the book to lie flat and open, serving as an ideal backdrop for miniature photography. The pages, made of 200gsm paper, offer a silk finish that strikes a balance between color depth and reflectiveness. To protect the heavy paper pages and lend extra resilience, the covers will be made from 300gsm heavy stock.

Apart from its primary use, the book doubles as an art book, allowing users to tear out the pages for wall art or as visual aids for wilderness journeys in role-playing games.

As a landscape painter with many years of experience working as a Tolkien illustrator, Hodgson has chosen some of his most captivating images for the book, largely based on the scenery around his native Scotland. Despite the diverse range of images, the collection is cohesive, reflecting the inspiration he draws from his surroundings.

Joining forces with Annie Norman from Bad Squiddo Games for this campaign, Hodgson aims to bring together a community of miniature photographers, and if the interest is robust enough, expand the book’s page count through stretch goals. The campaign is short, lasting only a week, but has a clear objective – to fund the initial print run of this innovative book.

A well-respected figure in the games industry, Hodgson’s extensive body of work includes contributions to Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and The One Ring Roleplaying Game, among others. In 2019, he set up his own company, Handiwork Games, and has since delivered several successful Kickstarter campaigns.

The Kickstarter campaign ends on July 4, 2023. To get a closer look at the Jon Hodgson Backgrounds Book, or to back the campaign, visit the Kickstarter page.